The Battle in the Night
by Sky-Racer
Summary: Barbara finds out about Jim Lake Jr.'s nightly escapades in the worst way possible: over the phone. (She hears a fight between Jim and Angor Rot) ((Story is better than summary!))
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Jim Lake Jr. sat with his back against a cold, hard, brick wall in a dim alleyway. His night had been going fine, he and his friends were walking home after a well-deserved cheeseburger and shake from their favorite diner in town. The night hadn't been too cold and no clouds had speckled the sky. And yet even the most seemingly perfect night turned out to be a wolf in sheep's skin. He had been the first to hear the low, nearly inaudible growl coming from the dark shadows. And when the legendary war hammer was drawn and the epic portal staff righted, and when the bright glow of daylight blessed the land, there had been chaos. Crawling goblins, all green skin and glowing eyes, leapt from the shadows with bared claws and ferocious snarls. They had trained against goblins, trained against their quick movements and their lack of self-preservation, trained against their daftness and their tricks. But they were not prepared for the hoard that attacked them. They usually attacked in large yet manageable sizes except now it appeared the whole species showed up. When one fell in a flash of light or oozed under the weight of the hammer, another ten bounded up to fell their foes. So they ran as if their life depended on it, because it did. In the nick of time, Claire had summoned an ominous swirling portal to transport them back to Troll Market, the mass inches from the three troll hunters heels. However, two went through and the last was thrown to the ground as a dead hand and a glowing-eyed beast rammed himself full-force into the Troll hunter. Jim was alone against Angor Rot, his second most feared enemy, only coming after Gunmar. Which left Jim in the here and now, hiding and fearing for his life. His heart raced as he held his sword with the grip of death. There were no footfalls, no labored breaths, except for his own. Suddenly he leapt, his heart pounding, as his phone vibrated in his pocket. The pocket was a new addition but he was glad it was there because maybe Claire was calling. But his face fell as he turned the screen on and saw his mother's face staring up at him. He inwardly groaned. He couldn't miss this call, he had already ignored the last four. And it seemed his hiding spot was pretty good for the time being. He tapped the green accept button and put the phone against his ear.

"Jim Lake Jr., this is the fifth time I've called and your only picking up now! I've been worried sick! Why haven't you answered? And don't give me the same excuse you gave me last time."

"I'm sorry, mom. No, this time Toby and I had the volume up too loud and I forgot to put the ringer on. It won't happen again. But we just won another round, if that count's for anything." Jim gave a half-hearted smile.

"No, it doesn't. And why are you whispering?" Before Jim could answer, a voice called in the dark, cold and clear.

"It doesn't work like this, Troll Hunter. You can't hide from me. You will meet death tonight. I can taste your fear, Troll Hunter. And I've already tasted your blood."

Jim shivered.

"Jim? Jim, what's going on? Who's that?"

"Mom, I can't talk right now, I- aaahhhggg!" A hand melted out of the darkness and wrapped around his throat, effectively throwing Jim against the far wall, his phone falling from his hand.

"You cannot escape this time, Jim Lake Jr. I already stand over your body."

"Jim? Jim! Honey, are you there? Jim, what's going on?" Barbara's voice could be heard, though slightly muffled. A low, terrifying chuckle escaped the tall mummy's throat.

"I wouldn't count on that, Angor Rot." Jim's voice did not waver, but his body shook as if winter had come early. Another low chuckle.

"Then why can I do this?" The sword of daylight clattered to the ground as a pain-filled scream wrenched the air. Blood pooled beneath the boy's limp body. "I would watch your death, Troll Hunter, but I am called elsewhere. I've never stabbed a human before, but the poison's effect should work the same. You will die a slow and painful death. Goodbye, Jim Lake Jr. I had always known you were the weakest Troll Hunter ever chosen, and I have proved it today." A merciless laugh and then the monster was gone.

"Jim! Please! Answer me! Please! Where are you? Where are you?" Barbara wept on the other side of the phone. Everything had sounded so real. Did she just listen to her baby boy die? She continued to listen to the silence, tears streamed down her face. Somehow she had sunken to the floor, and she braced her hand on the cold surface, steadying herself. There was shuffling footsteps on the other end until Barbara heard the unmistakable voices of… Toby and Claire?

"Jim? Oh my God, Jim! Jim, are you alright!" Claire's sounded afraid, panicked.

"Come on, buddy, wake up! Jim!" Toby let loose a sob.

"Hah! I feel a pulse and he's still breathing. We need to get him to Blinky now!"

There were scrapes and grunting before "Ah! Oof! Oh, look, it's Jim's phone!"

"Not now, Toby. Help me! There's too much blood. Come-"

"Ohhhhh, hiiiiii Mrs. Lake, uh Jim can't talk to you right now. Uh, the video game over here is getting really intense. Um, got to go! See ya!" Then suddenly the call ended.

"Jim?" She whispered at her phone. She continued to stare. This wasn't real. This was just a really, really bad nightmare. She was going to wake up any moment now. Any moment. She screamed. She did not wake up. This was real and she just listened to her son's death.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Barbara sat as still as if she was made of stone. She didn't feel the coldness against her flush skin for she only felt the chill of fear. Her heart was clenched in worry. This was not happening. Please, this was not happening. She had run up the stairs three at a time and flung Jim's bedroom door open with such force it banged against the wall. His lamp was off, his bed sheets unruffled. And his window- cracked open, the winds low whistle eerily humming. Her heart fluttered before she flung herself down the two flights of stairs to the basement. He was only doing his laundry, nothing to worry about. Except the hanging light was not switched on and the machines did not rumble in the darkness. He- he was in the kitchen cooking them a snack and she just didn't notice. Again she ran up the stairs and skidded around the corner only to find an empty kitchen. She slowly walked to the living room and sunk onto the couch. What was she going to do? He could be anywhere. Anywhere in town. Anywhere. She wished with every part of her being he was in the hospital and her phone was going to ring and she was going to hear her sons voice on the other side, or at least a nurse calling her in to bring her son home after a quick checkup. And she'd rush in to find her son standing in the waiting room, his warm smile there to reassure his presence. Except she knew he wasn't there. Knew it in her bones. Knew it because Claire hadn't said hospital. She hadn't even mentioned 9-1-1. What she had said was _get him to Blinky._ Yet there was no Blinky on staff. Her eyes did not wander from a single worn spot on the table and she hadn't even realized she had fallen into a light slumber until there was a shuffle and the creak of hinges as the front door swung open. Barbara bolted up right, staring at the doorway. Her mind worked slowly, processing the sight in front of her. Her son had walked through the door, yet he sagged a bit and his arm was slung over Toby's broad shoulders. Claire was right behind them, shutting the door with a quiet snap that pulled the mother out of her state of stupor.

"Jim!" She rushed forward. She wanted to kiss his face everywhere, she wanted to hold him tightly and never let go. but the way his tired eyes looked at her and the way his hand was pressed against his side sparked the doctor within her and she bent down slightly to help Toby bring her son to the couch. He sat with a hiss as she backed away, her hands over her mouth.

"Hey, mom. I- I'm sorry. I-" He couldn't seem to find the right words. His eyes would stare at her then dart to the ground, the window, the door, then back at her.

"Are you okay?" She whispered. She half expected him to say _fine, just tripped_ except he met her eyes and held her gaze.

"No, mom, I'm not okay. I should have told you a long, _long_ time ago, but I- I just didn't know how. And then I couldn't because I wanted- no, I needed to keep you safe." Both Toby and Claire sat silently, though she felt their moral support as if was a solid object in the room. He still grasped his side and her eyes wandered to his hand. His eyes followed hers and then he sighed, though it was cut short as his breathe froze for a second as if he was in pain. _Because he_ is _in pain._ She made to get up but he began speaking again, his word keeping her in place.

"I know you've noticed my behavior. I know you know I'm not home at night. Or the bruises I get aren't from tripping on sidewalks. But how could I tell you that-" He looked down at the ground, struggling to find the right words again, "that I'm not really over at Toby's house playing video games all the time or at Claire's studying all night when I'm really fighting." He looked up.

"Fighting?" She questioned.

"Fighting. Battling. Training for war." He held out his arms and she couldn't help but notice a bit of blood on his jacket. but she kept listening to his words, after all, it was nothing that serious, _right_? "We're called Troll Hunters. We're the first line and last defense against Gunmar." Her son's eyes lit up with burning rage behind them, but it was quenched as he continued talking. "We might be young to you, but we've seen and _done_ things. And we're worriers now. I'm known as the Trollhunter, the Trolls chosen fighter, granted Daylight's Magic by Merlin himself." He fell silent, waiting for her response.

"Warriors?" She whispered. "Magic? Merlin? _Trolls_? I- I don't understand, Jim."

"Then let us show you." He glanced at Claire expectantly. Barbara stared at the girl as she stood and removed a small object from her jacket. Holding a square-like object in the flat of her palm, Barbara jumped as it extended beyond the height of the girl her self. With an experimental twirl, Claire righted the stick, letting the base rest against the floorboards.

"I use the magic of this staff to create portals." She held her hand out and Barbara gasped as a small black hole appeared above her outstretched arm, and from the black expanse dropped Barbara's car keys, which the girl gently placed on the coffee table between them. She stayed silent as Toby stood and also pulled a small object from his pocket and Barbara leapt backwards slightly as a large, impossible-to-lift glowing, orange war hammer lit the living room in a soft glow. The short boy swung it in a circle before putting it in front of him.

"This is my war hammer, Mrs. Lake. It's basically just a hammer." He shrugged. "I smash things with it." Barbara turned expectantly towards her son, taking everything in though she still felt as if this reality she was in was a dream. Her son gave her that sweet smile of his. He made to stand and Barbara was about to insist he sit back down but Claire grabbed his elbow and gently hoisted him up. He too reached into his pocket and pulled from it a circular object.

"For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is Mine to Command." Barbara stood up sharply as blue light came _out_ of her son's chest and turned into _armor_? She watched as the glowing metal wrapped her boy's body and he dropped to his feet. She hadn't even realized he had _floated_ a couple inches off the ground. He reached behind his back and pulled a _very_ large sword in front of him, holding it at his side but angling the flat of the blade towards her.

"This is what we do, mom. When we're not where we say we are. When I'm not in my room at night. When I miss days at school. We protect the trolls that live in Troll Market, a beautiful cave full of life and energy beneath our feet. We protect it from an Troll who has gone bad. From changelings who spy for him. And from goblins." Barbara finally found her voice.

"You what? Jim! Trolls? Armor?" She gestured at his body. "I mean, I wouldn't believe you, but how can I not when the proof is in front of me." She paced back and forth, her hand rubbing the back of her neck absent-mindedly. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Jim placed the sword on his back, the hilt poking above his shoulder. "I know it's a lot to take in, mom." He smiled. "And yes, trolls. Creatures of stone. Some have four arms. Some have six eyes. Some grow moss on their backs." He chuckled gently. "You should meet Blinky some day, he's been dying to meet you." The word _dying_ had brought her eyes back to where Jim's hand had strayed to his side again. Her eyes softened and she placed her arms around her son. Her head rested on his shoulder. When had he gotten so tall?

"Sit." She whispered. She saw the pained relief in his face as he sat back down on the couch. Though her eyes were open, she did not see what was before her. She was remembering the cold voice she had heard taunting her son. And she could never forget her sons scream.

"Mom?" She looked down at his face.

"And what happened tonight? I heard it all. I heard- you scream." She whispered the last part, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I- It was Angor Rot. He's an, uh, assassin that's been hunting me a while and he stabbed me." He rushed his last words. "But I'm fine, see!" He opened his arms wide.

"Stabbed! Jim! You should be at the hospital right now, not sitting on this couch!" She jumped up and grabbed the keys on the table beside her.

"No, mom, I've already been treated. Blinky helped." Barbara looked at him skeptically. Jim rolled his eyes but lifted up his shirt anyway, revealing crisp, white bandages. It was finally too much for her. In a span of a second, she had enveloped her son in a bone-crushing hug.

"You almost died tonight! Died, Jim! I could have lost you!" She looked at him, panic in her eyes.

"Don't remind me." He whispered. She didn't miss the unmistakable shadow that crossed his face. His eyes seemed to take on an extra weight that reflected all that he'd seen. His body caved in slightly, as if the world rested on his shoulders. _No, not a world,_ she thought, _two worlds,_ Trolls _and Humans._ Her son, still in high school with his life ahead of him, still a child, for goodness sake, had the life of a soldier thrusted onto him, it's weight so heavy it showed in his face and the way he held himself.

"Oh, Jim. I'm so sorry." She forcefully breathed out of her nose in a sudden flare of annoyance and anger. "But _why_ on earth did you not tell me! I'm your _mother_! I'm supposed to take care of you. I'm supposed to have all the worry. I'm supposed to have the struggles. Not you! Your not supposed to have to worry about death at your age. All of you! You three are in _high school._ You not supposed to have already experienced _war_! Your not supposed to fear for your _lives!_ And at such a young age! And your not supposed to know what being stabbed feels like!" She waved her arms around, flustered. This was her son and she couldn't even take care of him yet he waged a war unseen and still made her breakfast in the morning and kissed her goodnight. "Why haven't you given this _role_ you've taken on to someone more worthy?" She said, exasperated.

"Because I'm the only one that is worthy." He muttered.

"What?"

"This amulet," he pointed to the circular object stuck in his armor above his heart, "it contains the magic of Merlin himself. It's the power of Daylight. And when a Trollhunter dies, the amulet finds the next worthiest troll to become the next Trollhunter in a long line of Trollhunters, or in my case, a human became their protector. I'm the only one that can protect them all. They're not a race of fighters, they're, well, they're basically kind-hearted giants. Though they're not that big, only several feet above my height. And I'm the only won worthy enough to wield this magic. Believe me, I doubted myself sometimes, but it's true. Toby and Claire, they help me in this fight, because I can't do it alone. Be grateful their here, too, their the greatest friends anyone can have." He smiled at them both as they nodded in agreement to his words.

"Oh Jim, but you shouldn't have to do this!"

"No, I shouldn't have to do this, but I _need_ to do this. They need a protector, mom, and I'm, _we're,_ their only hope for their survival." Barbara sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her son again, trying to remind herself he's still her son, yet she couldn't help but feel that he had grown in wisdom and strength beyond his age.


End file.
